Mariam and Kyle

How We Met

Never in my wildest dreams did I think Kyle and I would be where we are today. Both he and I come from two completely different worlds. Kyle was raised in a small town on a farm and comes from a ‘traditional’ American family. I was raised in the suburbs close to Seattle and grew up within a South East Asian family. When we were introduced through mutual friends, I had already graduated college and Kyle still had a few years to go.

With all the expectations and requirements my culture and family had of me I assumed it would never work out between us. I have never been so wrong. Kyle has exceeded every expectation of mine and my families. He has gone above and beyond all on his own to adapt a new culture and I have never met a more genuine and loving person in my entire life. He has a heart of gold. As time went on and I witnessed all that he did every single day for our future together, I knew that he was put in my life for a reason.

how they asked

The day of our engagement was one of the most beautiful days of my life. From start to finish it could not have been a more perfect day. Kyle and I have always been very family oriented people, which is one of the things I love most about him. The Sunday he proposed we decided to spend the day with family and enjoy the sunshine outside at his grandparents farm. After spending hours of laughing and soaking in the sun, we decided it was time to head back as I had a long drive back home. Due to having work early the next morning I was stressed about driving home in time and getting settled for the week.

I was in rush to gather my things and head back but Kyle insisted that we had to witness the sunset that day as the sky was clearer than it had been in a while. He explained to me how he had a new look out point he wanted to take me to in Fairhaven, WA. Fairhaven is one of my favorite places in the world. It’s a cute, quirky town with a beautiful view of the Puget Sound. I spent endless hours there studying and going for walks during my college years and created some of my favorite memories there. I used to always tell Kyle that no matter where I went in the world, this place would always have my heart.

I decided to also ask my sister, Sameen, to join us as well. She originally said she would come with us but just as we were heading out she bailed. I was a bit upset with her as I was excited to be able to spend time with her, but I let it go as I had dropped the plan on her last minute. When we got to Clarke’s Point in Fairhaven I had no idea what was waiting for me at the end of our short walk. When we got down to the look out point Kyle was being extremely indecisive of where he wanted us to settle down to enjoy the sunset.

As we walked down a pathway to a rock he wanted us to sit on I noticed a person squatting down behind a bush. At first I didn’t think anything of it but after a second glance I realized it was my sisters Roommate, Rachel. As I approached her I exclaimed “Rachel! What are you doing here?” She had a video camera in her hand and she explained to me how she was working on a video project for a class she was taking. Since she is really into film making I totally believed her and left her to her filming.

As Kyle and I approached our rock that looked over the water I noticed Kyle getting a little fidgety and thought he was acting really strange. He asked me to stand up and go to the edge of the cliff we were on to get a better view. I was turned around looking the other way when I noticed Kyle wasn’t standing next to me. When turned back around, I found Kyle down on one knee!

I was so confused, nervous, and excited all at the same time!

I am pretty sure I blacked out for a moment and when I finally came back to my senses and what was going on all I remember is Kyle pulling out the most beautiful ring from his pocket and asking me to spend the rest of my life with him. It was the easiest yes I have ever said in my life. Then came the water works as Kyle reached forward to hand me the ring, but I told him he had to put it on my finger.

He must have been so nervous because he grabbed the wrong hand at first until I put my left hand forward!! After laughing and crying from joy I saw my sister running towards us from the corner of my eye and next to her was Rachel!!

All three of them had been in on this the whole time! Kyle had set up the proposal so that Sameen and Rachel could capture the moment for me to always look back on!

I couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful moment. Listening to Kyle tell me the story about how they asked my parents for permission, how he designed and picked out the ring, and how he got my sister and her roommate involved in the proposal made my heart so full!